MLB Player News

The Astros selected Hernandez's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Wednesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Hernandez was acquired via trade from the Padres on Tuesday and has now been added to the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster. The 29-year-old boasts a 1.90 ERA and 34:9 K:BB over 23.2 innings at the Triple-A level in 2024. He made two relief appearances with San Diego in 2023, allowing four frames in three frames.

The Astros optioned Mushinski to Triple-A Sugar Land on Wednesday.

Mushinski had pitched both of the previous two days, allowing a pair of runs while cover 1.2 innings. He'll make way for a fresh relief arm in Nick Hernandez, whose contract was selected Wednesday.

Triple-A Columbus reinstated Cantillo (hamstring) from its 7-day injured list Wednesday.

Cantillo is ready to make his season debut for Columbus after he had been sidelined for more than two months to begin the campaign due to a left hamstring strain. He made just one rehab start in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League prior to being activated, so Cantillo could face some limitations with his workload in his initial outings with Columbus.

Garcia went 2-for-4 with a walk, one stolen base and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Guardians.

Garcia is making excellent contact lately with multiple hits in nine of his last 16 games. He's gone hitless just three times in that span. It took a while for the third baseman to get into a rhythm at the plate, but the Royals stuck with him atop the lineup due to his speed. Garcia is slashing .267/.316/.398 with five home runs, 14 steals, 35 RBI, 40 runs scored, 12 doubles and three triples through 60 contests.

Renfroe went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Guardians.

Renfroe has quietly started to turn things around, going 13-for-49 (.265) with two homers, five doubles and eight RBI over his last 15 contests. That's a vast improvement over the first quarter-plus of the season, though he's still at an ugly .179/.256/.327 slash line through 172 plate appearances. Renfroe has added five homers, 21 RBI, 21 runs scored, one stolen base and eight doubles over 51 contests. He sat out both games over the weekend with Nelson Velazquez and Adam Frazier each getting a turn in right field, but Renfroe remains the Royals' primary right fielder.

Long (0-1) allowed two unearned runs on one hit and one walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Tuesday versus the Guardians.

Long put two runners on base before giving way to Angel Zerpa in the seventh inning. A Bobby Witt error would allow three runs to score, including the two on Long's line that sent him to the loss. He still hasn't given up an earned run over 5.1 innings this season, and he's generally pitched well with a 5:1 K:BB in a low-leverage role since he was brought up to the majors May 20. Long has previous experience as a starter, but none of his six big-league appearances this year have exceeded one inning. He went longer than an inning in eight of his 15 outings for Triple-A Omaha prior to his call-up, so he could still be called on to provide length out of the bullpen.

Meyers has been added to the lineup and will start in center field and bat cleanup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

Meyers had been scheduled to receive the day off, but with Alex Bregman (hand) scratched from the lineup, the Astros had an opening. With Meyers filling his usual spot in center field, Mauricio Dubon will shift from center to cover third base for Bregman.

Bregman has been scratched from Wednesday's lineup due to lingering left hand soreness, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Bregman was hit on the hand by a pitch during Tuesday's win over the Cardinals. X-rays came back clean, but with the hand not feeling 100 percent the team will play it safe. Bregman is expected to be back in the lineup Friday versus the Angels after Thursday's scheduled off day. Jake Meyers will enter Wednesday's lineup in center field, with Mauricio Dubon shifting to third base to cover for Bregman.

Freeman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Royals.

Freeman's homer tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh inning. He hit eighth Tuesday, the lowest he's been in the order since May 9, though it was expected he'd see less time in the top-third of the lineup following Steven Kwan's return from a hamstring injury. Freeman is batting a respectable .256 over his last 20 games, though his season average remains at .219 with a .666 OPS, five homers, 24 RBI, 33 runs scored and eight stolen bases through 54 contests.

Naylor went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and a second run scored in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Royals.

Naylor was part of the Guardians' comeback push -- his fourth-inning homer cut the deficit to 5-3. After being one of the team's hottest hitters in April, the first baseman has hit .178 with a .719 OPS since the start of May. Naylor's power is still coming through with 16 homers, a .500 slugging percentage and a .271 ISO. He hasn't had a pronounced issue with strikeouts either, fanning at just a 16.2 percent rate while walking at a career-best 10.3 percent clip. Naylor's .308 batting average last year was likely unsustainable, but he's a better overall hitter than he's been over the last month.